Venture Capital
Tesla’s Rise Has Inspired a Dozen New Electric Vehicle Rivals
Tesla’s Rise Has Inspired a Dozen New EV Rivals
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Elon Musk should be blushing.
In addition to the increased competition from big auto manufacturers, there are also now many venture-backed startups that are now kicking tires within the electric vehicle industry. According to Tracxn, a startup intelligence platform, some of Tesla’s rivals include Faraday Future, NextEV, and Atieva.
This set of companies has raised hundreds of millions from prominent venture capitalists in a bold effort to emulate the success of Tesla, which had its shares skyrocket from $17 to north of $200 since the company’s 2010 IPO.
Tesla’s Rivals
Faraday Future is possibly one of the more interesting names on this list. Backed by Chinese internet billionaire Jia Yueting, the company is notoriously secretive and hasn’t publicly revealed its CEO. It has however, hinted that its technology could potentially help mount a serious challenge to Tesla. Faraday Future executive Nick Sampson, the former head of vehicle and chassis engineering at Tesla, said that the company’s goal was to “revolutionize mobility the same way the iPhone revolutionized the phone industry”.
The company plans to build vehicles with a Variable Platform Architecture (VPA), which allows for vehicles to be built with multiple motors, along with powertrain configurations that can be customized for specific power, range and driving dynamics. Faraday Future recently broke ground on its $1 billion Nevada factory, aiming to launch its first vehicle for sale in 2017.
NextEV, another EV startup with Chinese connections, has reportedly raised more than $500 million from big names including Sequoia Capital, Tencent, and Joy Capital. Started by William Li, who previously founded the largest provider of car-pricing data to Chinese dealers, the company has a similar vision to that of Faraday Future: it plans to focus on connectivity and infotainment features to take the EV beyond just a form of transportation. To help guide in this plan, NextEV has hired Martin Leach, who previously served as the president of Ford Europe and also the CEO of Maserati.
Lastly, Atieva has made recent ground in the EV market after securing the majority-backing of one of China’s largest automakers. Founded in 2007 by Bernard Tse, who was also originally on Tesla’s Board of Directors, Atieva initially planned to provide monitoring software for electric vehicle battery packs. Today, the company has now reportedly moved towards manufacturing EVs with the vision of “redefining what a car can be by building an iconic new vehicle from the ground up”.
Building an electric car company from the ground up is a daunting task, and many imitators have already failed spectacularly. Fisker Automotive, for example, famously declared bankruptcy in 2013 even after burning through $1.4 billion in funding while losing $35,000 per car.
It’s possible this list may look way different in the near future.
Markets
Companies Gone Public in 2021: Visualizing IPO Valuations
Tracking the companies that have gone public in 2021, their valuation, and how they did it.

Companies Gone Public in 2021: Visualizing Valuations
Despite its many tumultuous turns, last year was a productive year for global markets, and companies going public in 2021 benefited.
From much-hyped tech initial public offerings (IPOs) to food and healthcare services, many companies with already large followings have gone public this year. Some were supposed to go public in 2020 but got delayed due to the pandemic, and others saw the opportunity to take advantage of a strong current market.
This graphic measures 68 companies that have gone public in 2021 — including IPOs, SPACs, and Direct Listings—as well as their subsequent valuations after listing.
Who’s Gone Public in 2021?
Historically, companies that wanted to go public employed one main method above others: the initial public offering (IPO).
But companies going public today readily choose from one of three different options, depending on market situations, associated costs, and shareholder preference:
- Initial Public Offering (IPO): A private company creates new shares which are underwritten by a financial organization and sold to the public.
- Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC): A separate company with no operations is created strictly to raise capital to acquire the company going public. SPACs are the fastest method of going public, and have become popular in recent years.
- Direct Listing: A private company enters a market with only existing, outstanding shares being traded and no new shares created. The cost is lower than that of an IPO, since no fees need to be paid for underwriting.
The majority of companies going public in 2021 chose the IPO route, but some of the biggest valuations resulted from direct listings.
Listing Date | Company | Valuation ($B) | Listing Type |
---|---|---|---|
08-Jan-21 | Clover Health | $7.0 | SPAC |
13-Jan-21 | Affirm | $11.9 | IPO |
13-Jan-21 | Billtrust | $1.3 | SPAC |
14-Jan-21 | Poshmark | $3.0 | IPO |
15-Jan-21 | Playtika | $11.0 | IPO |
21-Jan-21 | Hims and Hers Health | $1.6 | SPAC |
28-Jan-21 | Qualtrics | $15.0 | IPO |
09-Feb-21 | Metromile | - | SPAC |
11-Feb-21 | Bumble | $8.2 | IPO |
26-Feb-21 | ChargePoint Holdings | - | SPAC |
03-Mar-21 | Oscar Health | $7.9 | IPO |
10-Mar-21 | Roblox | $30.0 | Direct Listing |
11-Mar-21 | Coupang | $60.0 | IPO |
23-Mar-21 | DigitalOcean | $5.0 | IPO |
25-Mar-21 | VIZIO | $3.9 | IPO |
26-Mar-21 | ThredUp | $1.3 | IPO |
31-Mar-21 | Coursera | $4.3 | IPO |
01-Apr-21 | Compass | $8.0 | IPO |
14-Apr-21 | Coinbase | $86.0 | Direct Listing |
15-Apr-21 | AppLovin | $28.6 | IPO |
21-Apr-21 | UiPath | $35.0 | IPO |
21-Apr-21 | DoubleVerify | $4.2 | IPO |
05-May-21 | The Honest Company | $1.4 | IPO |
07-May-21 | Lightning eMotors | $0.82 | SPAC |
07-May-21 | Blade Air Mobility | $0.83 | SPAC |
19-May-21 | Squarespace | $7.4 | Direct Listing |
19-May-21 | Procore | $9.6 | IPO |
19-May-21 | Oatly | $10.0 | IPO |
26-May-21 | ZipRecruiter | $2.4 | Direct Listing |
26-May-21 | FIGS | $4.4 | IPO |
01-Jun-21 | SoFi | $8.7 | SPAC |
02-Jun-21 | BarkBox | $1.6 | SPAC |
08-Jun-21 | Marqueta | $15.0 | IPO |
10-Jun-21 | Monday.com | $7.5 | IPO |
16-Jun-21 | WalkMe | $2.5 | IPO |
22-Jun-21 | Sprinklr | $3.7 | IPO |
24-Jun-21 | Confluent | $9.1 | IPO |
29-Jun-21 | Clear | $4.5 | IPO |
30-Jun-21 | SentinelOne | $10.0 | IPO |
30-Jun-21 | LegalZoom | $7.0 | IPO |
30-Jun-21 | Didi Chuxing | $73.0 | IPO |
16-Jul-21 | Blend | $4 | IPO |
21-Jul-21 | Kaltura | $1.24 | IPO |
21-Jul-21 | DISCO | $2.5 | IPO |
21-Jul-21 | Couchbase | $1.4 | IPO |
23-Jul-21 | Vtex | $3.5 | IPO |
23-Jul-21 | Outbrain | $1.1 | IPO |
28-Jul-21 | Duolingo | $3.7 | IPO |
28-Jul-21 | Riskified | $3.3 | IPO |
29-Jul-21 | Robinhood | $32.0 | IPO |
22-Sep-21 | Toast | $22.0 | IPO |
22-Sep-21 | Freshworks | $10.1 | IPO |
23-Sep-21 | Remitly | $6.9 | IPO |
28-Sep-21 | Amplitude | $6.4 | Direct Listing |
29-Sep-21 | Warby Parker | $6.0 | Direct Listing |
14-Oct-21 | GitLab | $11.0 | IPO |
27-Oct-21 | Rent the Runway | $1.7 | IPO |
29-Oct-21 | Udemy | $4.0 | IPO |
03-Nov-21 | Allbirds | $2.2 | IPO |
04-Nov-21 | NerdWallet | $1.2 | IPO |
10-Nov-21 | Rivian | $66.5 | IPO |
10-Nov-21 | Expensify | $2.2 | IPO |
11-Nov-21 | Winc | - | IPO |
11-Nov-21 | Weave | - | IPO |
17-Nov-21 | UserTesting | - | IPO |
17-Nov-21 | Braze | $6.0 | IPO |
18-Nov-21 | Sweetgreen | $3.0 | IPO |
09-Dec-21 | Nubank | $41.0 | IPO |
Though there are many well-known names in the list, one of the biggest through lines continues to be the importance of tech.
A majority of 2021’s newly public companies have been in tech, including multiple mobile apps, websites, and online services. The two biggest IPOs so far were South Korea’s Coupang, an online marketplace valued at $60 billion after going public, and China’s ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing, the year’s largest post-IPO valuation at $73 billion.
And there were many apps and services going public through other means as well. Gaming company Roblox went public through a direct listing, earning a valuation of $30 billion, and cryptocurrency platform Coinbase has earned the year’s largest valuation so far, with an $86 billion valuation following its direct listing.
Big Companies Going Public in 2022
As with every year, some of the biggest companies going public were lined up for the later half.
Tech will continue to be the talk of the markets. Payment processing firm Stripe was setting up to be the year’s biggest IPO with an estimated valuation of $95 billion, but got delayed. Likewise, online grocery delivery platform InstaCart, which saw a big upswing in traction due to the pandemic, has been looking to go public at a valuation of at least $39 billion.
Of course, it’s common that potential public listings and offerings fall through. Whether they get delayed due to weak market conditions or cancelled at the last minute, anything can happen when it comes to public markets.
This post has been updated as of January 1, 2022.
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